Best & Most Stylish Covers for Macbook Air (and keyboard cover?)

I'm giving my 16 year old neice a MacBook Air (13") for her Birthday, and know she's really appreciate a splash of color as well as a way to keep it nice.... I've seen a few on TV where they have a case that is say, yellow with a matching Yellow keyboard or keyboard cover....

If price was not an issue, what is the best brand to look at for this type of thing? I've found that Mophie makes awesome battery charging and iPhone accessories, and from that learned that you get what you pay for.... but since I don't use laptops, I'm not familiar with this area... I want to be able to get a high-quality color matching case and keyboard cover, and let her decide which to leave on or upgrade from there.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated! (I'm thinking of the transclucent-yet-colored cases...)

I'm giving my 16 year old neice a MacBook Air (13") for her Birthday, and know she's really appreciate a splash of color as well as a way to keep it nice.... I've seen a few on TV where they have a case that is say, yellow with a matching Yellow keyboard or keyboard cover....

If price was not an issue, what is the best brand to look at for this type of thing? I've found that Mophie makes awesome battery charging and iPhone accessories, and from that learned that you get what you pay for.... but since I don't use laptops, I'm not familiar with this area... I want to be able to get a high-quality color matching case and keyboard cover, and let her decide which to leave on or upgrade from there.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated! (I'm thinking of the transclucent-yet-colored cases...)

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Any $2 keyboard protector on ebay will do as quality does not vary much between branded kb protectors and something sold by an enterprising Chinese ebayer. I would say that protective shell does vary in quality as the finishing (such as edges) and general brittleness does scale with price.

Any $2 keyboard protector on ebay will do as quality does not vary much between branded kb protectors and something sold by an enterprising Chinese ebayer. I would say that protective shell does vary in quality as the finishing (such as edges) and general brittleness does scale with price.

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Thanks! But I'm looking for something that looks as nice too... I know there is the Speck case, Moshi, etc.... and I'm looking for a combo that will make it look as sharp as possible. Which is the best fitting external snap on case? I definitely want a brand name, preferably the best quality one out there. Thank you...

Moshi has a package you can purchase that includes a hard shell with keyboard cover, trackpad cover and the palm guards. I think it's about $94 for the entire deal. I ended up buying a Speck hard shell for my MBA 13" and it's been great. The shell snaps on easily and doesn't add too much weight.

Any $2 keyboard protector on ebay will do as quality does not vary much between branded kb protectors and something sold by an enterprising Chinese ebayer.

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I have a different experience. Played with a few inexpensive covers and they don't fit right and when that happens the Air doesn't close flushed and it's rather annoying. Another thing is, if the cover doesn't have see-thru letterings then the keyboard backlit is blocked.

When I go to Amazon, everybody praise the Moshi but that's a rather expensive item. I settled for something in between, the KB cover, fits perfectly, is see-thru. I don't know if they come in color.

I see people using colored covers and look nice and I'd make sure the backlit is not blocked.

I'm giving my 16 year old neice a MacBook Air (13") for her Birthday, and know she's really appreciate a splash of color as well as a way to keep it nice.... I've seen a few on TV where they have a case that is say, yellow with a matching Yellow keyboard or keyboard cover....

If price was not an issue, what is the best brand to look at for this type of thing? I've found that Mophie makes awesome battery charging and iPhone accessories, and from that learned that you get what you pay for.... but since I don't use laptops, I'm not familiar with this area... I want to be able to get a high-quality color matching case and keyboard cover, and let her decide which to leave on or upgrade from there.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated! (I'm thinking of the transclucent-yet-colored cases...)

Click to expand...

I like this case a lot here. I have the pink one and I love it so much. It adds a little bit of bulk to the laptop but it protects it very well. It fits snugs and covers all the corners nicely As for the keyboard cover (I LOVE keyboard covers), have this one in pink to match my pink case! Hopes it helps

With all the benefits of snap-on cases like Speck and Moshi, one significant downside is that specks of dust and debris unavoidably get in between the case and the laptop body and, with use, scratch the aluminum surface.

My previous MBP had a Speck case which worked great and stood up to the daily use and abuse, but left indelible grooves in the chassis around the edges. I guess this will be especially true for a teenage girl, so you may want to remind her to take the case off once every so often and wipe it down on the inside and the laptop on the outside.

Thanks everybody! I got some spek cases and ordered the Moshi in black... once she picks one, I'll keep the rest and put one on my Macbook Air in a little while when I get one from the after-Christmas listing rush and I find a deal... I'll post my impressions of each once I get to compare in person.

Thanks a lot, this site is awesome. Makes Apple products 25% more fun for me, having a site like this for advice and research.

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